Leaving the army as a sergeant in 1919, Brooker married Lydia
Wilson in London, and in 1921 was tempted by the offer of free
passage to Australia.
Brooker, his wife and their baby arrived in Melbourne on 31 August 1921, and moved to
Tasmania where he worked
as a farm labourer, then as a pipe-fitter at the Cadbury's Chocolate
Factory in Claremont.[1]

In December 1947, the PremierRobert Cosgrove
was indicted on
charges of bribery and corruption. Cosgrove stood down as Premier
during his trial, and Brooker was sworn in as his replacement on 19
December 1947. The trial was concluded by February the next year,
and the charges against Cosgrove were dropped. Brooker stood down
after only two months as Premier, and Cosgrove was reinstated,
appointing Brooker as Treasurer and Minister for Transport.[4] Four
months after resigning the Premiership, Brooker died at his home in
Montrose after suffering a pulmonary oedema on 18 June 1948.

Legacy

The Hobart highway known as the Northern
Outlet, the idea of which was conceived by Brooker as transport
minister, was renamed the Brooker Highway in his honour.